, 1887-05-04
THE GREAT BUDDHA.
A GIGANTIC MASS OF GOLD THAT
IS WoRsHlPED IN JAPAN.

a Head and Shoulder Only, SInoty-ave
Feet High-LauGhter Right Uuder tho
Gods NoSe-I;iuginE tho Grent Bell of
KIoto.
The temple Of Dai-Doutsou thc great
Buddhal seems n temple built for fun-nn
enormous Joke to muse the faithful.
This "Great Buddha" has only a head
and shoulders, at least ninety-dve feet
high; he seems to be rising from the
depths OF the earth, with his neck stretch
Ing up Hk some one making II painful
effort to struggle out of the ground. He
Hlonc fills all his temple, and his curling
hair touches its roof.
Ono reaches him, just as all the gods
are reached, by q series of stairways, porti-
Goes and courts. From the gate of the
sanctuary one can not very well explain
10 oneself at the first glance what Is that
hillociI II gold, that shapeless mass In
front the shoulders of BuddhnJ. 1t Is
only Gfterward, when you look up very
high, that you see far above you the cOlos-
sal gildOd face, the huge liked eyes gazing
down upon o from the height of ninety
feet with idiotic placidity.
I'M myself making this pilgrimage ut
the same time as Il good naturcd Nippon
family of country people. who awe como
to the holy city for the first time; and the
good folks, especially the Indies, cannot
get over the idea of seeing so big u god;
and there are cries of "Ah!'' and
''Ohp'-cXclnmationS of surprisc-littlo
screams and little laughs. Now, really this
Buddha Is just too funny, with his stork-
like neck and his stupid air-funny Gs any
of those snow men which urchins make at
tho corners of the s~treets-funn "a some
enormous caricature made to order by
1tt1A ghf1lrnV AV1 tl,ar. gI.. IgNtI. aar-
try family are nll laughing right under
tho gods nose-laughing till the tears roll
down their cheeks, and the other visitors,
and even the guardian bronzes themselves,
also laugh to see them laugh. Then they
all look at me TO see how 1 feel about it,
and have to laugh, too-can't possibly
help 1t. What n country this Japan,
where everything Is oddly and contrasti
Who could ever imagine that this frivolous
little temple, with its reverences and its
eternal laugh, could have lived through
centuries locked up in such fcrocious mys-
terry, and ave given birth to those thou
sands Of other temples, with their monsters
and their h~obgoblins,
AKIN THE ROUND.
BY the payment OF two cents one is
privileged to make the round of the great
Buddha-one usccnds by n series of slop-
ing plank galleries, placed at n very steep
angle, on which you can pass behind tho
head of the colossus. n little above the
napc of the neck. | advance upon It, still
accompanied by the voyaging family; the
sloping way is slippery, old, broken
through here and there, worm eaten-the
ladies very nearly fall. l put out my hand
10 help them, and then we become good
friends right away. Behind the enormous
head. in a dark nook, an old bronze Is
squirting down-for one cent he shows us
u salt of arnor and u war mask which
once belonged to the great T~aiko-Sama-
and then he throws open for our benefit
sundry very ancient idol closets, in which
animal headed diyinities arc conserved
with various relics of weird aspect. There
We do not laugh any more.
In the court of his temple Is the most
monstrous Of all the bells of Kioto-ut
least seven or perhaps eight yards around.
1t is rung by means of an enormous beam
tipped with iron-a sort of battering ram
suspended horizontally with ropes.
For two cents extra one has the right to
experiment with it.. l harness myself to
the pulling straps, n circle Is formed
around me, and children run up. Even
two or three young girls come behind me
to take hold, bothering me u great deal,
pulling the wrong way half the time,
bursting into fits OF laughter. TIL united
strength Of the three is almost equal to
the power of three good kittens.
Meanwhile the battering ram begins to
yield; gradually it begins to swing.
Booml booml A sound awful, cavcrnous,
and prolonged into mighty orchestral
vibrations which must be heard through
the whole OF the sacred city.
Then the audience is so happy!-dclirious
with Joy-can't get enough OF it; every one
laughs, every one is In ecstasy.-New
Orleans Times-Democrat's Translation
from the French.